Ball State ended its historic season in the Norman regional first round, falling to N.C. State 196.050 to 195.375 on Wednesday afternoon. It was the Cardinals’ second appearance at regionals as a team in program history and the first time in decades the team has qualified for the postseason.
Ball State got off to a rocky start on bars, counting a fall, but came back with a strong vault rotation headlined by Suki Pfister’s excellent front handspring pike half and anchored by a stuck Yurchenko one and a half form Victoria Henry, who walked away with the win on the event.
To head coach Joanna Saleem, that’s hard mental work paying off. The team has focused on regulating emotions and staying in the moment, not looking back or getting ahead of themselves.
“Something that they’ve done really well this year is to learn to let mistakes go and continue to push forward and stay present clearly,” Saleem said, adding that today that objective was more of a struggle for the group.
Getting to this point, a historically high national finish, came down to leadership. Saleem credits her returning classes with never settling, always striving to be better and creating that culture in the gym. Junior Henry exemplifies that; she added beam to her program this season.
“[Adding…
